It is well-documented that the spread of the novel Coronavirus and the resultant lockdown has led to an economic slowdown, the kind of which our generation has never witnessed before. It has affected a cross section of industries, geographies and livelihoods. Every extension of the national and state lockdown has led to increasing amounts of pain for organizations that are fighting for survival. Much like others, the realty sector has also faced tremendous hurdles as construction projects get delayed, new sales slip and expenses continue to rise.
As the economy grapples with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, developers looked to the state and central government for financial assistance and support. Over the course of this lockdown, multiple relief measures have been announced. For instance - the government announced a special liquidity scheme worth INR 30,000 crore for Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC’s), Housing Finance Corporations (HFC’s) and Micro Finance Institutions (MFI’s), which carry a guarantee by the Government of India. Further, an amendment was made under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, wherein COVID-19 disruption will be treated as force majeure and an extension of 6 months/9 months (depending on which part of the country the project is being constructed) will be provided for varied to completion timelines.
Here are the following benefits that have been reaped from the policies introduced by the government:
However, this is not nearly enough. A lot more could and should have been done to alleviate some of the more astute pain points faced by the industry. Below are some of the facets that the government should consider for any future amendments to the Atma-Nirbhar Bharat Movement:
The author is the MD at Spenta Corporation